


The Trouble With Trainees

by Piranahaha



Category: Bondi Rescue (TV)
Genre: Caretaking, Fluff, Gen, Illnesses, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 12:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20693180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piranahaha/pseuds/Piranahaha
Summary: Harrison had been doing really well as the new trainee. Always showing up on time, working hard, and never complaining even when he probably deserved to. Then he no call no shows and Hoppo sends Maxi to find out why.





	The Trouble With Trainees

**Author's Note:**

> So. This is the first fic I have written to completion in a VERY long time. It's also the first one I've ever posted, and my first for this fandom. Lots of firsts here. Also, I'm not native to Australia, so there's bound to be some mistakes when it comes to their vernacular. Apologies for that. But, any native Australians out there, feel free to let me know what I can do to improve. Everyone else, enjoy!
> 
> Special shout out to AmmoLovesJyron for putting up with my insane amount of messaging and for being a soundboard for all my ideas. Thanks mate!
> 
> Piranahaha

Trent Maxwell was in a piss poor mood as he drove through Bondi's evening traffic after closing up the beach for the night. While normally he'd be headed home for a hot shower and to collapse into his bed for some well deserved rest, here he was going the entire way across town. Why? The new lifeguard, the kiwi Harrison, had no called no showed on them that day. Now Hoppo was sending him over to give him an earful on the head lifeguard's behalf. Maxi was beyond pissed at the younger man. They'd been short staffed because he hadn't shown up, and everyone had been forced to run ragged to make up for it. Maxi had thought better of Harrison. Despite him only being eighteen and new to the town, he'd been showing promise. That was all ruined now. 

He turned down the street Hoppo told him was the one Harrison's apartment building was on, and grimaced at the trash lining the gutters. This definitely wasn't one of Bondi's best areas, far on the west side where many people with lower incomes lived. It was quite a contrast to his own rather nice condo that was only a six minute walk from Bondi beach. 

Maxi pulled along the curb outside of the address he'd been given. The building looked like it had seen much better days. Everything looked faded and the bricks were cracking in some places. The sign over the front door said West End Apartments in peeling letters. To be honest, he hadn't expected Harrison to be living in such a place.

The front door had no lock or other type of keyed entry, letting Trent walk in without issue. He frowned at the lack of security as he scanned the mailboxes, looking for the one labeled with his quarry's name and apartment number. There it was, H. Reid scrawled in handwriting he recognized and labeled with apartment 308. The lobby was just as rundown as the outside, and an 'out of order' sign was taped to the elevator doors leaving Maxi to climb three flights of stairs. Harrison's apartment was at the far end of the poorly lit hallway, on the right side. Reaching it, he knocked hard, slamming the side of his fist into the wood repeatedly. 

"Harrison!" he shouted. "Open the door mate!" 

He waited, listening for movement or a response from inside. Nothing. He banged again, longer this time, then tried the knob. The knob, it turned out, was broken and nearly fell off in his hand. The door opened easily with a push, no safety chain in place to stop him. 

"Harrison?" Maxi called again, worry replacing the anger and a sinking feeling crawled into his gut. "You here mate?" 

He stepped in, looking around at the barren apartment that was much too hot for his liking. Either the place didn't have air con, or Harrison wasn't using it because the room was stifling. There was little furniture in the place, comprising almost entirely of a single rickety looking futon sofa and an equally ragged chair in another corner. A single lamp lit the entire room from beside it. On the couch, crawling out from under a blanket was Harrison. A very sick, very confused looking Harrison. 

"Maxi?" he wondered, squinting up at the figure standing over him. "Whatchu doin' here?" 

"Looking for you," he replied, eyes assessing the young man. "You missed work today."   
"Whaa?" He blinked, confused. "How?" 

"You tell me mate," Maxi answered. Harrison truly didn't look well, at least not to Trent. Bags had formed under his eyes and, despite the heat in the apartment, he appeared to be shivering. His skin also appeared waxy and sick underneath the tan he always had. 

Harrison just stared at him blankly, not comprehending a single word he'd said. Maxi sighed and reached a hand out to place on the brunet's forehead. It was scalding under his palm, and the man groaned, pulling away with a wince. "Hurts," he mumbled, the movement almost sending him toppling back into the couch. 

"How long have you been sick Hutts?" Maxi asked, stepping away to check the kitchen for a glass or water bottle he could use to give him some water. He would bet anything that the kiwi was dehydrated. 

"Not sick?" 

"No, you're sicker than dogshit actually." Maxi found a single glass along with a few other dishes in the kitchen. There was no food to speak of, in the fridge or in the cupboards. He filled it at the sink, making the water as cold as the tap would allow. He carried back over to where Harrison was sitting on the edge of the couch, confusion on his face. "Drink this." 

Harrison reached out a shaky hand, taking hold of the glass and sipping on the water. Maxi watched, not liking the picture the dots he was connecting in his head were making. After Harrison had made it halfway through, he took it back, setting it aside on the floor before crouching down in front of the trainee. "What's going on mate?" 

He watched as blue eyes started filling up with tears. "I'm sorry," Harrison whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest, like he was trying to hold himself together. "I-I didn't want to be sick. I thought I just wasn't feeling well from working extra and not eating as much and I-" he cut himself off, swallowing a small sob. 

And Trent's heart broke as he knelt there, watching the eighteen year old curling up on himself with tears running down his cheeks. He moved onto the couch, sitting down next to trainee with an unsettling creak from the futon. After waiting a moment to be sure it wasn't going to collapse under his weight, he reached his arm out and pulled Harrison close to lean on his shoulder. The small act seemed to be the last straw, because Harrison just turned his head into Maxi's shoulder and started bawling his heart out. Between the sobs, pieces of the story came out, finishing off the picture Maxi had already started making in his head. 

"I spent all my savings getting over here from New Zealand and my," he hiccupped, "my parents were going to help me out until I got a few paychecks in b-but my mum lost her job an-and they can't afford to help me out and I-I can barely afford this place and I don't have that much for groceries and now Hoppo is gonna fire me for missing work and…" He dissolved further into tears, no longer able to for any kind of sentences around his sobs. 

The older lifeguard just sat there, letting the trainee cry into his shoulder while he mulled things over. So apparently Harrison wasn't just fucking off from his job like many eighteen year olds might be prone to doing. Instead he was living paycheck to paycheck in a shitty apartment and was sick as hell which made him miss work. Probably because his body had collapsed from how hard he'd been pushing it. Fuck, Trent felt awful for the things he'd planned to say to the younger man on his drive over. 

As the crying slowed, Maxi moved away so he was face to face with Harrison's flushed cheeks and teary eyes. 

"Sorry mate," Harrison whispered, looking away as he roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. 

"Nah mate, you're alright." 

"No, no I'm not." His laugh bordered on hysterical as he bent over at the waist and tucked his head into his hands. "I'm fucked." 

Maxi couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out. which he choked off as quickly as he could when he saw the dark look being shot his way. "Right then, here's what's going to happen. You're going to grab some clothes and then you're coming home with me until you're not sicker than shit and then you're going to talk to Hop and explain everything to him. Right?" 

Harrison stared at him with wide eyes. "Wh-what? Why…why would you…?" He was at a loss for words at the proposal. 

"Just say 'Yes Maxi' and let's get a move on, yeah?" The blond chuckled, standing up from the couch and reaching a hand down to help the shorter man up. He gently turned the still stunned Harrison around, pointing him towards a pile of laundry and patted him on the back to get him moving. 

In short order, the kiwi had collected a small bag of necessities, and was following Trent back out the front door. Even the little bit of effort required to complete the small tasks seemed to have drained him of energy, leaving him once again looking worse for wear. He nearly stumbled part of the way down the stairs, and then when they reached the bottom the normally fit man had to stop to catch his breath before they could finish making their way to the car. Once there, Harrison collapsed into the passenger seat and tilted his head back with a groan. Maxi slid in behind the wheel, and cranked the car over, turning the air con up on high since it had surely been a while since the brunet had gotten to cool off between his fever and absent air con in his apartment. 

Turning out of the lot and back on to the street for the trip to his condo, Maxi glanced over at Harrison to see that the trainee had passed back out to sleep. Oh well, he needed it, Trent was sure. He just continued the drive in relative silence, keeping the radio and his cursing at traffic on low. 

At his condo, he parked in the shaded spot designated for him, and cut the engine. Harrison hadn't moved once for the entire twenty minute trip, just snored slightly from his congested nose. 

"Hutts," Maxi reached over and nudged the younger man's shoulder. "Wake up mate we're here." 

It took a few more nudges before green eyes blinked open, sleepy and confused. Trent didn't say anything, just guided him out of the car and into his home, steadying him when he stumbled over the front step. 

"Go lay on the couch mate. I've got to make the spare room up. I'll bring you some meds for the fever a'right?" 

"Sure, thanks mate," Harrison stifled a small yawn as he shuffled to the couch, nearly collapsing onto it and immediately groaning in contentment. "Don't bother with the bed, this is good." 

Maxi smirked, moving to his medicine cabinet to pull out his stock of acetaminophen, dumping a few out into his palm before storing the rest away. He made a side trip to the kitchen to gather a glass of cool water before making his way back to the living area. Already, Harrison was nearly asleep, requiring a good bit of prompting from the older man to sit up and take the tablets. Once he did, Maxi let him lay back down until he got the second room sorted. 

Midway through making the bed up, Maxi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he grimaced seeing Hoppo's name as the caller. 

"Hey Hop," he answered. 

"Hey Maxi. So what's with our trainee? You find him?" The head lifeguard sounded irritated, even through the phone. 

Maxi sighed, "Yeah, I found him. But here's the thing." Trent spent the next five minutes outlining what he had learned about the kiwi, his current living situation, and reason for missing work. 

"So anyway," he wrapped up, shifting his weight on the bed, "he's currently at mine passed out on the couch. I told him once he's feeling better he had to come talk to you."

"Shit mate," Hoppo blew out a breath and Trent could nearly see him running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, sounds good. Let me know how he gets on will you?" 

"Sure thing Hop. Later then."

"Bye mate." 

Hanging up the line, the blond stood up and made his way back out to the living area, intent on getting Harrison up to put him in bed. But, upon seeing the way he'd completely crashed face first into the pillow and judging by the way he was snoring, the man was fast asleep. Deciding against bothering him again, Trent just went into the kitchen to scrounge up dinner. He would worry about his guest later.


End file.
